I had NBC’s Today show on over the weekend, and they did a segment on real estate. As you would expect, my ears perked up, and I stopped what I was doing and paid attention. Real estate mogul and business expert Barbara Corcoran was talking about how real estate in some markets is down nearly 25% since 2006 and was offering tips on how home sellers could make sure that their home gets sold … not stale.
Naturally, Corcoran offered several good tips, but the one that got me was this: Photos Are Everything! Today’s home buyers are turning to the Internet to browse through houses long before they visit them in person. Because of this, you need to have great photos to sell your house. Buyers shop with their eyes, and if you have cruddy photos of your home online, guess what? It probably isn’t going to get as much foot traffic as you’d like. She further suggested that home sellers have between 3 and 5 professional photos of their home online, so that the house gets the foot traffic it needs to sell.
I couldn’t agree with her more! I know this advice isn’t earth shattering. In fact, this is an area that builders latched onto years ago and really excel at. Builders understand that great photos sell their homes and neighborhoods. They are willing to spend the money to get professional photographs taken. Not only do the photos capture the design elements of the homes, but they also use smart wording to create an entire experience – to tell the story behind the home and the neighborhood.
I’ve been fortunate enough to write a few of these stories for builders, and each time, we capture the experience they want the potential buyer to feel, to get them to visit the home and see the neighborhood first hand.
However, creating a lively experience with photos doesn’t have to be limited to new construction. There are plenty of stunning remodeling projects that would sell you, the contractor, when captured with the right quality photos. One good example is remodeler Bruce Gingrich of Glenn H. Gingrich, Inc., who does a fantastic job of showcasing his company’s work through photos. Bruce happens to be an above-average hobbyist photographer, so he can naturally see the right angle to take the picture, he uses light to his advantage, and he is able to develop an evoking experience with the photos he takes.
Not all of us can be like Bruce. Not all of us have the photographer’s eye to get it right. But that doesn’t mean you have to skimp on this. Remember what Corcoran said, people really do shop with their eyes, and if your portfolio is full of mediocre photos and your competitor has sharp images that capture the details, guess who is going to get the job? Unfortunately, not you.
True, not every project is worthy of a professional photo shoot, but the ones that are: don’t go “cheap”; instead, hire someone who can do the job right – and capture that transformation you, as the experienced craftsman, made for your customer.
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